What California Fish Grill does

California Fish Grill operates a fast-casual seafood restaurant chain with 50+ company-owned locations across California, Nevada, Arizona, Virginia, and Maryland. The company, headquartered in Newport Beach, California and founded in 1998, serves individual consumers seeking sustainably sourced seafood in a quick-service format, with a secondary customer cohort of 501(c) nonprofit organizations participating in a GroupRaise-powered community fundraising program. Menu offerings span grilled specialties (Atlantic salmon, ahi), sustainable protein bowls, fish and chips, tacos, signature salads, lobster rolls, and kids' meals, built entirely around seafood certified by the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch program.

The company's technology layer is comparatively modest for its scale: a proprietary iOS/Android ordering app branded as Fin Crowd (which delivers exclusive offers, group ordering, personalized meal selections, and order history) sits on top of an OLO-powered web ordering platform, with a dedicated catering microsite (catering.cafishgrill.com) for corporate and group events. There is no disclosed in-house AI/ML capability, proprietary model, or training pipeline. Distribution is concentrated in physical restaurant locations — fast-casual seafood is the core product, supported by a centralized procurement model spanning wild-caught (ahi tuna, calamari, cod, rockfish, sockeye salmon) and farm-raised (Atlantic salmon, barramundi, tilapia, shrimp, swai) species.

Revenue mechanics are purely transactional: per-item unit pricing on dine-in, takeout, and delivery orders; transaction-based catering sales; percentage-of-sales donation commitments on GroupRaise fundraising events; and one-time gift-card sales. Go-to-market is direct-to-consumer via company-owned storefronts and proprietary digital channels, supplemented by a Flagship cause-marketing partnership with the No Kid Hungry foundation. No public listings, funding rounds, acquisitions, or disclosed revenue figures appear in the source data; Victor Topete is identified as CEO & Founder.

Name

California Fish Grill

Legal name

California Fish Grill, LLC

Website

https://cafishgrill.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1998

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

California Fish Grill is a privately held fast-casual seafood restaurant chain operating 50+ company-owned locations across five U.S. states. The company serves individual consumers sustainably sourced seafood certified by the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch program via dine-in, app, online, and catering channels.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Fast-Casual Seafood Restaurants

NAICS

Limited-Service Restaurants (722513), Restaurants and Other Eating Places (72251)

SIC

Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810), Retail-Eating Places (5812)

akta.pro primary industry

Seafood Fast Casual (THAFABAJ)

Keywords

• Fast-casual dining
• Sustainable seafood restaurants
• Online food ordering
• Restaurant catering services
• Seafood restaurant chain

Headquarters

HQ city

Newport Beach

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Dine-in Restaurant Sales: Revenue generated from customers dining at restaurant locations, including full menu items such as grilled specialties, protein bowls, fish and chips, salads, tacos, lobster rolls, and starters/sides.
2. Takeout and Delivery Orders: Online and app-based ordering for takeout and delivery, processed through the company's own platform and potentially third-party delivery services.
3. Catering Services: Corporate and group catering services for events and gatherings.
4. Fundraising Events: Group fundraising program where California Fish Grill donates a percentage of sales back to qualifying nonprofit organizations including schools, sports teams, and community groups.
5. Gift Cards: Digital and physical gift cards sold at restaurant locations and online.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

California Fish Grill is a fast-casual restaurant chain that prepares and serves 100% sustainably sourced seafood dishes, including grilled specialties, protein bowls, fish and chips, salads, tacos, lobster rolls, and kids' meals, across 50+ company-owned locations in five U.S. states. The company also provides online/app-based ordering, catering for groups and events, gift cards, and a nonprofit fundraising program.

Product overview

California Fish Grill is a fast-casual seafood restaurant chain operating on a single-brand, multi-location model. The company operates its core restaurant business across 50+ locations in California, Arizona, Nevada, Maryland, and Virginia, offering sustainably sourced seafood dishes including grilled specialties, protein bowls, tacos, salads, and classic fish and chips. The product portfolio includes the California Fish Grill Ordering mobile app (iOS and Android) for online ordering and pickup, a web-based ordering platform, and catering services for events. Additional offerings include a fundraising program for nonprofit organizations and a cause marketing partnership with No Kid Hungry.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• California Fish Grill Restaurant (Dine-In Experience) Fast-casual dine-in restaurant experience serving 100% sustainably sourced seafood menu items including grilled specialties (e.g., Atlantic salmon), sustainable protein bowls (e.g., Everything Protein Bowl), classics (e.g., 3-Piece Battered Fish & Chips), signature salads (e.g., Grilled Salmon Salad), coastal taco combos (e.g., Cajun Shrimp Taco Combo), lobster specialties (e.g., Lobster Roll Plate), starters/sides (e.g., Ahi Poke), and kids' meals (e.g., Kids Grilled Chicken) at 50+ company-owned locations across California, Nevada, Arizona, Virginia, and Maryland.
• Fin Crowd Mobile Ordering App Proprietary iOS and Android mobile application enabling customers to browse menus, place orders for pickup, access exclusive Fin Crowd offers, use easy group ordering, view order history, and receive personalized meal selections.
• Online Ordering (Web) Web-based ordering platform accessible at order.cafishgrill.com allowing customers to place food orders for pickup from any restaurant location.
• Catering Services Catering service for events and groups, available through catering.cafishgrill.com with customizable seafood menu options for various group sizes; serves corporate and event catering buyers.
• Community Fundraising Program Fundraising program allowing 501(c) nonprofit organizations including schools, sports teams, and community groups to partner with California Fish Grill locations, with a percentage of sales donated back to the cause (GroupRaise-powered, $200 event minimum).

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and flagship.

• Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood WatchcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMonterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch has been a leader in global marine conservation for 20 years, educating producers on sustainable harvesting practices and monitoring fishing industry environmental impact. California Fish Grill sources 100% of its seafood from suppliers rated Best Choice or Good Alternative by the Seafood Watch program or Eco-Certified by third parties.
• No Kid HungryflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with the No Kid Hungry foundation dedicated to feeding millions of kids living with hunger. California Fish Grill invites customers to join in raising funds for the cause through donations and awareness campaigns.
• OLOcoreTechnology or IntegrationOLO provides the online ordering technology platform for California Fish Grill's website-based ordering system.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Rubio's Coastal Grill: California-born fast-casual Mexican-seafood chain. Closest direct competitor to California Fish Grill: similar SoCal origin, similar price point, similar dine-in/takeout/catering model, and overlapping target customer seeking healthier, sustainably-sourced seafood in a quick-service format.
• Captain D's: National seafood QSR chain with ~500 company and franchised locations. Closest scaled direct peer in terms of limited-service seafood positioning, though skewed toward fried fish and Southern U.S. geographies rather than California's grilled/sustainable niche.
• Long John Silver's: Iconic American seafood QSR chain. Directly comparable as a multi-state quick-service seafood concept; useful benchmark for AUVs, seafood COGS exposure, and unit-economics resilience in the category.

Broad incumbents

• Red Lobster: Largest U.S. casual-dining seafood chain. Overlaps with CFG on core seafood offering and broad national footprint, but operates in a sit-down, full-service format at a different price point; serves as the broad-incumbent reference point for category demand and seafood supply chains.
• Bonefish Grill: Upscale-casual seafood concept under Bloomin' Brands. Comparable in that it is a multi-state seafood-focused chain with a similar sustainability/quality story, but positioned at a higher price point and full-service format — useful for understanding where CFG could expand upmarket.
• The Habit Burger Grill: California-born fast-casual chain (now owned by Yum! Brands). Comparable as a multi-state California-rooted fast-casual concept with similar price point, omni-channel ordering, and loyalty infrastructure; useful benchmark for fast-casual California AUVs and unit economics.

Emerging players

• Hook & Reel: Rapidly-growing Cajun seafood-boil casual concept. Emerging direct competitor for seafood-occasion share, particularly with younger demographics; competes for the same "experiential seafood" guest but with a different cuisine style.
• Sweetgreen: Leading tech-forward, mission-driven fast-casual salad/bowl chain. Not a seafood peer directly, but highly relevant comparable on digital ordering, loyalty/app engagement, sustainability positioning, and unit-level economics for a healthy fast-casual concept.
• Cava Group: Mediterranean fast-casual bowl concept with strong digital and catering engine. Comparable as a multi-state, ingredient-forward fast-casual peer with mature digital and catering stack; useful reference for unit-economics and digital-to-store productivity benchmarks in the segment.

Regional players

• Skipper's Pier House Restaurant: West Coast / Pacific Northwest regional seafood QSR with limited-service seafood offerings. Comparable in category and geography (closer to CFG's Northern California / Pacific potential expansion markets), but a much smaller footprint.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/CAFishGrill
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCjZpygl3YUZNGyjrS0vn8Tg
• Facebookfacebook.com/CaliforniaFishGrill
• Instagraminstagram.com/californiafishgrill

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about California Fish Grill